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Silent Night
| published = | movements = | scoring = | misc = }} "Silent Night" ( ) is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2011. The song has been recorded by a large number of singers from every music genre. The version sung by Bing Crosby is the third best-selling single of all-time. History in Oberndorf]] The song was first performed on Christmas Eve 1818 at St Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf, a village in the Austrian Empire on the Salzach river in present-day Austria. A young priest, Father Joseph Mohr, had come to Oberndorf the year before. He had already written the lyrics of the song " " in 1816 at Mariapfarr, the hometown of his father in the Salzburg Lungau region, where Joseph had worked as a co-adjutor. The melody was composed by Franz Xaver Gruber, schoolmaster and organist in the nearby village of Arnsdorf. Before Christmas Eve, Mohr brought the words to Gruber and asked him to compose a melody and guitar accompaniment for the church service. Both performed the carol during the mass on the night of December 24. The original manuscript has been lost. However, a manuscript was discovered in 1995 in Mohr's handwriting and dated by researchers at . It shows that Mohr wrote the words in 1816 when he was assigned to a pilgrim church in Mariapfarr, Austria, and shows that the music was composed by Gruber in 1818. This is the earliest manuscript that exists and the only one in Mohr's handwriting. The first edition was published by in 1833 in a collection of Four Genuine Tyrolean Songs, with the following musical text:"Silent Night" revisited by Norbert Müllemann, G. Henle Verlag, 24 December 2012 \relative c'' { \key c \major \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"acoustic guitar (nylon)" \time 6/8 \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 4 = 60 \autoBeamOff g8. a16 g8 e4. | g8. a16 g8 e4. | d'4 d16. b32 b4. | c4 c16. g32 g4. | a4 a8 c8. b16 a8 | g8. a16 g8 e4. | a4 a8 c8. b16 a8 | g8. a16 g8 e4. | d'4 d8 f8.-> d16 b8 | c4. (e4) r8 | c8. g16 e8 g8. f16 d8 | c4.~ c4 r8 \bar "|." } The story of the composing of the song was the subject of the fanciful television special Silent Mouse (1988) narrated by Lynn Redgrave. Later films to tell the story include Christian Vuissa's film (2012)https://www.movieguide.org/reviews/silent-night.html and the documentary The First Silent Night (2014), narrated by Simon Callow.[http://www.netaonline.org/search/ProgramDetails.aspx?id=4346 First Silent Night, The], production details Translations In 1859, the Episcopal priest John Freeman Young, then serving at Trinity Church, New York City, published the English translation that is most frequently sung today, using three of Gruber's original six verses.Underwood, Byron Edward, "Bishop John Freeman Young, Translator of ' '", The Hymn, v. 8, no. 4, October 1957, pp. 123–132. The version of the melody that is generally used today is a slow, meditative lullaby or pastorale, differing slightly (particularly in the final strain) from Gruber's original, which was a "moderato" tune in 6/8 time and siciliana rhythm.Meredith Ellis Little (2001). [http://oxfordindex.oup.com/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.25698 Siciliana]. Grove Music Online. ISBN 978-1561592630.Gerlinde Haid (1994). Siciliano als Typus weihnachtlicher Volksmusik. 175 Jahre "Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!" (in German), p.135–146. Salzburg. Today, the lyrics and melody are in the public domain. The carol has been translated into about 140 languages.Ronald M. Clancy, William E Studwell. Best-Loved Christmas Carols. Christmas Classics Ltd, 2000. The song was sung simultaneously in English and German by troops during the Christmas truceStanley Weintraub Silent Night: The Remarkable Christmas Truce of 1914. New York: Free Press, 2001. of 1914 during World War I, as it was one carol that soldiers on both sides of the front line knew. Lyrics (c. 1860) of the carol by Franz Gruber]] : References External links * * Free arrangements for piano and voice from Cantorion.org * Text and music, Stille-Nacht-Association, Salzburg * Silent Night Chapel, origin of song Category:1818 songs Category:1960 Christmas singles Category:1960 singles Category:Austrian songs Category:1962 Christmas singles Category:1962 hymns singles Category:1962 singles Category:1965 singles Category:1965 Christmas singles Category:1966 singles Category:1966 Christmas singles Category:Christmas carols Category:Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity Category:1975 singles Category:1975 Christmas singles Category:1976 singles Category:1976 Christmas singles